non-experimental methods Flashcards
What are the two categories for observations
Controlled
Naturalistic
What are the sub categories for controlled observations
Covert
Overt
What are the sub categories for naturalistic observations
Covert
Overt
What are all six types of observations
Controlled
Naturalistic
Covert
Over
Participant
Non-participant
Define a controlled observation (2)
The conditions are manipulated by the researcher (1)
This type of observation may be carried out in a laboratory type situation (artificial environment - (CONTEXT) e.g. Ainsworth (2)
Define a naturalistic observation (2)
Watching natural behaviour in a natural environment for the participant where the target behaviour rould normally occur. (1) No manipulation of variables e.g. CONTEXT - aggression in playground (2)
Define an overt observation (2)
Participants are aware their behaviour (CONTEXT) is being observed, so will be aware of the purpose of the research. (1)
Observer is clearly visible to participant (2)
Define a covert observation (2)
These are observations that are conducted withou the knowledge or awareness of the participants. (1)
This can be done through an observer being hidden, use of secret cameras or from behind a two-way mirror. (2)
The observer may become part of a group to observe behaviour, but hide the fact they are doing research
Define a participant observation (2)
The researcher is involved with the group (CONTEXT) (1)
Data collected whilst being part of a group or situation e.g. (CONTEXT) joining a cult or football hooligans (2)
Define a non-participant observation (2)
The researcher is not involved with the group (CONTEXT)
(1) Data collected from distance e.g. video camera (2)
What are behaviour categories (2)
When you have decided which type of observation to use you also need to create operationalised behaviour categories which basically means being SPECIFIC about what you are observing (1) to make the behaviour more MEASURABLE (2)
What are the reasons for using behaviour categories
- Provides a clear focus for the observation - observers know exactly what behaviours they are looking for.
- Allows for more objective research/ data recording as the behaviour observed is clearly measurable and therefore less prone to bias.
- Allows observers to tally the behaviour in groups, therefore the results can be compared to check for consistency to see if the observation is reliable.
- Using behaviour categories provides data that is easier to analvse as it provides quantitative/numerical data through tallies.
What is aggressive behaviour as a behaviour category
Kicking, punching and swearing
What is helping as a behaviour category
Holding the door open for someone, tidying a toy away, picking up litter
How does the psychologist decide when and how often to record behaviour
There are 2 ways to do this :
Event sampling
Time sampling
Explain what is meant by event sampling (2)
The observer decides on specific events (behaviour categories) relevant to the investigation. (1)
These relevant events (behaviour categories) are recorded every time they happen within a set period of time? (2)
for example, when observing aggression at a football match, recording a tally every single time they see an aggressive act occur within the full time period (90 minutes).
What is meant by time sampling
Tallying behaviours in a set time interval e.g. every two minutes. Interval e.g every two minutes
To explain in more detail, recording what behaviour is shown at every two minute. time interval, over a one hour period e.g. this would mean the researcher would 11-10 tally 30 behaviours within the hour.
Is the reliability high or low for the following;
Observation controlled
Observation naturalistic
High reliability
Low reliability
How/ the ways to assess reliability of observation (2-4)
Inter-OBSERVER reliability -Used for observations only
- The reliability of the observation can be checked by using TWO
OBSERVERS - The two observers would create and be trained on how to use the behaviour categories. (for example… (CONTEXT)) A02
- Two observers would then conduct the observation separately - watch exactly the same behaviour (contextualise - what behaviour are they measuring in the scenario?) for the same amount of time (contextualise - does the scenario give a time length?) but independently record their observations.
- The tallies from the two observers should be compared and correlated using an appropriate stats test.
- A strong positive correlation of +0.8 shows high reliability.
Definition of operationalising
Operationalising means to be specific and clear when defining any behaviour categories. (1) So that they are easier to measure (2).
Why is operationalising important for behaviour categories
If behaviour categories are vague (not operationalised) then it would not be possible for two more observers to conduct the same observation to check for consistent results (reliability) as they may not be looking for the exact same behaviours.
Operationalising increases reliability as if variables are operationalised the other researchers can conduct the same observation in the same way to check for consistent results as they know exactly what they are looking
for.
What are the other ways (other than operationalising) that the reliability of an observation can be improved
Having two observers can improve reliability as consistency of the observation can be checked between observers.
Provide training to observers on how to use the categories appropriately
Filming the observation so observers can practise categorising behaviours accurately and consistently
What are the two ways of assessing validity of observations
Face validity
Concurrent validity
How do you conduct face validity
The quickest most superficial way of assessing for validity. This involves an independent psychologist in the same field seeing if a behaviour category (contextualise: give an example) looks like it measures what it claims to measure (contextualise: refer to scenario, what are they measuring?) at first sight/face value. If they say YES the observation (CONTEXT) is valid
How do you conduct concurrent validity
A wav of assessing validity by comparing the results of a new observe (contextualise) with the results from another similar pre-existing observation which has already been established for its validity. Correlate the two sets of behavioural recordings/results gained from an appropriate stats test should exceed +0.8. If the results from both observations are similar then we can assume the test is valid.
What are the self report methods and what can they broken down into
Questionnaires ->
Open questions
Closed questions
Interview ->
Structured
Unstructured
What is involved in a self report (3)
Participants give information to the researcher to provide details on thoughts/feelings/behaviour (1)
It involves the participants responding to questions in a questionnaire or interview (2)
The questions in the questionnaire can be open questions (which allow participants to respond in detail) or closed questions (which require a one word response). The questions in the interview can be structured or unstructured. (3)
Briefly describe what a questionnaire is
Questionnaires form part of surveys, which involves asking a large sample of people for informations on a specific topic.
Involves a pre-set list of written questions or items to which the participant responds
The purpose of surveys is to get a good representation of the target population using a large sample - therefore making it able to generalise results to the rest of the population.
What are open questions (2)
These are questions which pts can answer using their own words. (1) They can express their views of their own behaviour and responses tend to include greater detail. (2)
